Lighten Up
by BookishGray
Summary: Bigby tries to get Snow to cheer up a little. A quick AU one-shot that takes place before the events in the game. Bigby x Snow partial-fluff. Because this is my first Wolf Among Us fic, it could be a little OOC. You've been warned. Thank you for reading!


_Hey, guys, it's Gray. This will be just a short one-shot for Bigby and Snow because there just aren't Wolf Among Us fanfictions yet. I want to start a longer story for the two of them later, but I'm just testing the waters for now. Tell me what you think (honest criticism, if you have it, please). _

_Note: This story takes place before the events in the game, and is totally AU. Enjoy!_

* * *

Bigby didn't even hear Snow come into his office. He was too busy trying to slack off from his paperwork. It was only when she plopped a fresh stack of files on his desk that he was suddenly aware of her overpowering sweet scent. He looked up at her from his desk chair, reclining back slightly, putting his hands behind his head, and sticking one of his cheap Huff & Puff cigarettes in his mouth. He quickly looked her up and down, observing every bit of her. Her midnight sky-colored hair was in its usual bun, no surprise there. Neither was the snowflake-patterned shirt or sky blue skirt. He immediately - and shamefully - recognized both as her favorite outfit. The beige blazer she was wearing was new, though.

"Snow," he addressed her as he dipped his head once in a gesture of greeting.

"Must you smoke in here?" Snow complained, not even acknowledging his greeting. She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. The callous façade she radiated was nearly tangible.

Bigby shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant about her complaint. "What's with all the paperwork all of a sudden? It's like you're trying to drown me here," He picked up a file or two and flipped through it, briefly scanning each page with a bored expression.

"Sorry," Snow apologized, unintentionally letting her cold guard down. She ran her fingers through her raven black hair and accidentally let a few pieces free from her bun. "Crane has just been so over-the-top lately. One moment, he wants me to forget about all the non-Woodlanders' cases, and the next, he's yelling at me because they're complaining about it. And he keeps making me run the weirdest errands. I swear, he's just doing it to keep me busy."

"So you just put up with it?" Bigby questioned, raising an eyebrow. He tossed the remains of the cigarette butt into an ashtray on his cluttered desk. He took it as a good sign when she didn't complain as he reached for a fresh one.

"Refusing will only make it worse." Snow sighed and pulled a chair to the other side of the desk to sit next to him. She looked down at her lap and fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

"He's still a–" Bigby began.

"Bigby," Snow chided, "please." She seemed serious, but when she looked back up at him, she was smirking. "These walls are too thin to badmouth the mayor."

Bigby chuckled and nodded. "Or maybe he just bugged the place."

"That too." Though her tone remained playful, her expression turned back to the serious mask which it usually was. Bigby hated her habit of closing him off like this, and hated himself for only being able to break it down for a few meager seconds at a time. A glimpse here and there of her true personality wasn't what he felt satisfied with. He needed Snow - the real Snow. He intended to cheer her up again, hopefully for longer.

"Do you ever think of taking time off?" Bigby suggested. Snow's face showed a mixture of consideration and confusion. Apparently the idea of a vacation had never crossed her mind before.

"Time off? And just leave Fabletown in the hands of Crane?"

"I'd be there."

"Like that would help," Snow muttered sarcastically. She quickly softened, though, at the poorly masked look of hurt in Bigby's eyes. "Nobody can tell Crane what to do."

"No one but you," Bigby responded with a half-smile.

Snow laughed bitterly. "Hardly." Her sapphire eyes sparkled happily even though her laugh was meant more for irony than humor.

Before he could stop himself, he let out five awkwardly timed words. "What beautiful eyes you have, Snow," he commented softly.

Snow felt her face heat up and glow red, and she looked down again in a futile attempt to hide it. "Oh, thank you." There was an awkward silence between them for a few seconds, and Bigby was sure he'd messed something up again, but Snow interrupted his thoughts by saying, "Took that line right from Red Riding Hood, did you?"

Bigby laughed. "Red never actually said anything like that, you know. The Mundies have weird ideas of what our stories were like." He paused. "Plus, I'm pretty sure it goes, 'What _big_ eyes - or teeth or hands or whatever - you have'."

Snow shrugged. "Who knows? You said it yourself: Mundies are weird." She then let out a couple of quiet giggles. Bigby tried not to show his astonishment, but he was sure he had never heard Snow White giggle in the many centuries he'd known her. He did feel a strange sense of pride, though, for being able to get her to cheer up, however slightly, in the first place.

The more Bigby thought about it, the happier he felt that he was able to make Snow feel better. She had been especially cold and grumpy lately, so either she was coming off it or Bigby's people skills were getting better… probably the former. But that didn't mean he was quitting his efforts any. He had loved her for too long now - years, decades, centuries - to give up on her. That insufferable idiot Crane sure wasn't going to stop him either.

As if on cue, a sharp voice cut through the room, breaking Bigby from his train of thought. "Ms. White! I asked you to deliver those files and return _immediately, _not to sit and have a tea party with Mr. Wolf!" Bigby and Snow both turned to the deputy mayor of Fabletown, Ichabod Crane. He stood in the doorway to Bigby's office, his arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Screw you, Crane." Bigby rolled his eyes and sank down in his chair. Snow hit him on the arm lightly to keep him from saying any more.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'll get to work right away," Snow stood and brushed off her skirt. She walked confidently out of the office, not even breaking her stride to wait for Crane to move, but instead nudging his left shoulder and knocking him off-balance.

Bigby couldn't stand the look on Crane's face. It wasn't even his usual grumpy, whiny look. It was nearly smug, almost as if he had some sort of victory over Bigby. As if controlling Snow was some sort of game.

Just before Bigby opened his mouth to say something that probably would have been very offensive toward the deputy mayor, Snow reentered the room and walked over to the chair she had sat in. "Almost forgot this," she said as she picked up a manilla folder and tucked it under her arm.

"And Bigby," she added, turning back to the sheriff. "Thanks for talking to me." She, at that moment, did the most unlikely thing yet: Snow bent down and softly pressed her lips to Bigby's cheek. Without another word, she strode out of the room and into the hall.

Both Bigby and Crane were too stunned to say a word. Bigby's eyes glazed over and he staring off into space, and his thoughts going wild with confusion and sheer giddiness. His mouth hung open slightly, but not nearly as much as Crane's. Crane was so utterly dumbfounded at the scene that had just unfolded in front of him that he began to question whether it had really happened or not.

When both men regained their mental faculties enough to form coherent sentences, Crane quietly murmured, "You best return to work, Mr. Wolf."

Bigby didn't respond, only mimicked the smug look he'd seen on Crane only seconds before. It wasn't directly pointed at the deputy mayor - though Crane _was _the main target of his expression - but at himself. He was able to cheer Snow up for the first time in forever.

* * *

Bigby kept the strange expression throughout the night, according to Colin. He didn't remember too much of it, but the pig reported that Bigby wasn't even angry with him for staying in his apartment that night.

"You were either drunk or lovestruck," Colin told him with a grin the next morning. "And seeing that you have no hangover right now, how far did ya get with Snow yesterday?"

"Get out, Colin," Bigby grumbled gruffly before leaving the apartment and slamming the door behind him.

"Didn't force me out?" Colin muttered to himself. "Oh, yeah. _Definitely _lovestruck."


End file.
